TWO    LECTURES: 


I. 


Mjrstorn  of  the  #ntrobuctton 


STATE     NORMAL     SCHOOLS     IN     AMERICA. 


II. 


fkospcctibe   .Snsicm 


NATIONAL   EDUCATION   FOR  THE  UNITED   STATES. 


BY    CHARLES     BROOKS, 

OF     MEDFORD,    MASSACHUSETTS. 


$rtnttt)  bg  EUquest ;  not 


BOSTON: 

PRINTED  BY  JOHN  WILSON  AND   SON, 
15,  WATER  STREET. 

1864. 


TWO     LECTURES: 

i. 

itHstorir  of  %  Jntrobuction 

OF 

STATE     NORMAL    SCHOOLS     IN     AMERICA. 

II. 

System 


NATIONAL   EDUCATION   FOR  THE  UNITED   STATES. 


BY    CHAKLES     BROOKS, 

OF    J1EDFOKI),    MASSACHUSETTS. 


bjj  Request ;.  not 


BOSTON: 

PRINTED  BY  JOHN  WILSON  AND   SON, 

15,  WATER  STRKET. 

18G4. 


"3eV\* 


-education 
Library 


74-I 


HISTORY 


MISSIONARY  AGENCY,  IN  MASSACHUSETTS,  OF  THE 
STATE  NORMAL   SCHOOLS  OF  PRUSSIA, 

IN  1835,  '36,  '37,  AND  '38. 

Read  at  the  "Quarter- Centennial  Normal-School  Celebration,"  in  Framingham,  Mass 

July  1,  1864. 


375915 


II  I  S  T  O  E  Y. 


MR.  PRESIDENT,  —  I  am  called  to  a  position  which  I  have  tried  to 
avoid.  For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  I  have  kept  profound 
silence  concerning  my  connection  with  the  introduction  of  the  present 
system  of  State  Normal  Schools  in  New  England,  and  should  have 
kept  silence  to  the  end,  had  not  this  noble,  patriotic,  and  Christian 
celebration  induced  some  friends  to  tempt  me  to  break  that  silence ; 
averring  it  injustice  to  withhold  the  facts. 

It  happens  that  I  alone  possess  all  the  historical  documents ;  and  I 
have  used  them  in  writing  a  history  of  1 68  pages  concerning  the  pub- 
lic movements  in  1835-8,  not  for  publication,  but  as  a  legacy  to  my 
children.  I  have  carefully  preserved  in  one  large  quarto  volume  all 
the  manuscript  documentary  evidence,  and  in  a  folio  all  the  printed 
evidence,  of  the  facts  I  have  stated ;  carefully  noting  dates  and  places. 

Now,  can  you  imagine  any  thing  more  ridiculous  and  contradictory 
than  for  a  living  man  to  stand  up  here,  and  read  his  posthumous 
histories  ?  Has  God  opened  a  seam  in  the  dark  cloud  of  the  grave, 
that  he  may  send  one  ray  of  light  to  increase  the  full-orbed  joy  of  this 
sacred  occasion  ?  I  proposed  to  your  committee  of  arrangements  to 
have  my  excellent  friend,  the  Hon.  Henry  Barnard  of  Hartford,  who 
has  done  more  for  general  education  than  any  man  on  this  continent, 
or  your  accomplished  "  historian,"  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stearns,  state  the  facts 
I  should  furnish  ;  but  the  answer  was  in  these  words :  "  It  would  seem 
better  that  we  should  have  the  statements  directly  from  yourself,  and 
not  through  another  as  the  medium  of  communication."  So  I  submit- 
ted ;  and,  without  angling  any  longer  for  sympathy,  I  must  say,  that  to 
the  Prussian  system  of  State  Normal  Schools  belongs  the  distinctive 
glory  of  this  day.  To  prove  this,  I  must  trace  its  history  in  New 
'England. 

The  Prussian  system  is  my  client ;  and  I  shall  submit  my  case, 
too  briefly,  to  this  intelligent  and  impartial  jury. 


At  a  literary  soiree  in  London,  August,  1834, 1  mot  Dr.  H.  Julius  of 
Hamburg,  then  on  his  way  to  the  United  States;  having  been  sent  by 
the  king  of  Prussia  to  learn  the  condition  of  our  schools,  hospitals, 
prisons,  and  other  public  institutions.  He  asked  to  be  my  room-mate 
on  board  ship.  I  was  too  happy  to  accede  to  that  request.  A  passage 
of  forty-one  days  from  Liverpool  to  New  York  gave  me  time  to  ask 
all  manner  of  questions  concerning  the  noble,  philosophical,  and  practi- 
cal system  of  Prussian  elementary  education.  He  explained  it  like  a 
sound  scholar  and  a  pious  Christian.  If  you  will  allow  the  phrase,  I 
fell  in  love  with  the  Prussian  system;  and  it  seemed  to  possess  me  like 
a  missionary  angel.  I  gave  myself  to  it ;  and,  in  the  Gulf  Stream,  I 
resolved  to  do  something  about  State  Normal  Schools.  This  was  its 
birth  in  me ;  and  I  baptized  it  my  Seaborn  School. 

After  this,  I  looked  upon  each  child  as  a  being  who  could  complain 
of  me  before  God,  if  I  refused  to  provide  for  him  a  better  education, 
after  what  I  had  learned. 

When  the  doctor  came  to  visit  me  at  Hingham,  I  told  him  I  had 
been  studying  the  Prussian  system  for  six  months,  and  that  I  felt 
called  of  God  to  try  and  introduce  it  into  my  native  State.  He  rose 
from  his  seat,  seized  my  hands,  after  the  Hamburg  custom,  and  said, 
"  My  friend,  you  are  right ;  and  I  will  help  you  all  I  can."  He  con- 
sented to  give  an  account  of  the  Prussian  system  before  the  Commit- 
tee on  Education,  in  our  legislature.  •  His  delineations  were  clear  and 
judicious,  but  so  brief  as  led  to  no  action. 

I  opened  communication  with  M.  Victor  Cousin,  the  first  scholar  in 
Paris,  with  whom  I  had  become  acquainted  in  1833.  He  approved 
most  heartily  of  my  plans,  and  sent  me  his  histories  of  the  Prussian, 
Hollandaise,  and  Bavarian  systems  of  education,  and  especially  Normal 
Schools.  I  sent  him  box.es  of  our  school-books  ;  and  his  letters  for  two 
or  three  years  were  my  comfort  and  strength.  I  am  sorry  to  say,  the 
rapacious  autograph-hunters  honestly  stole  some  of  them.  I  published 
translations  of  them  in  our  newspapers,  and  sent  them  to  every  town 
in  Plymouth  County. 

I  studied  his  books  thoroughly ;  and,  though  I  preferred  the  Holland 
system  of  governmental  supervision,  I  concluded  to  take  the  Prussian 
system  of  State  Normal  Schools  as  my  model  and  guide,  and  began  my 
public  lectures  on  the  whole  system  in  1835.  It  was  in  a  sermon  to 
my  people  in  Hingham.  They  did  not  ask  a  copy  for  publication.  I 
had  hoped  they  would,  because,  in  that  sermon,  I  had  made  this  state- 
ment :  "  The  whole  Prussian  system  is  built  on  these  eight  words, — 
AS  is  THE  TEACHER,  so  is  Tin-:  SCHOOL,  and  therefore  we  must  have 
seminaries  for  the  preparation  of  teachers,  and  I  hope  the  first  one  will 


be  in  Plymouth  County.  From  what  I  have  learned,  it  is  now  my 
opinion  that  the  Prussian  system  is  to  make  a  new  era  in  the  pn!>li<- 
elementary  education  of  the  United  States."  I  felt  this  strongly  in 
1H.3-0.  It  seemed  to  me  there  were  grave  objections  to  private  Normal 
Schools,  though  taught  by  such  distinguished  men  as  Hon.  James  G. 
Carter,  and  the  principal  of  the  Andover  Academy.  Massachusetts 
needed  associated  State  Normal  Schools,  owned,  supported,  and  gov- 
erned by  the  State  for  the  State's  service.  For  such  only  I  resolved 
to  labor. 

Much  depended  on  a  right  beginning.  I  knew  that  the  common 
people  would  be  more  moved  by  one  practical  fact  than  by  a  bushel  of 
metaphysics.  I  therefore  wrote  three  enormously  long  lectures  ;  name- 
ly, two  hours  each.  In  the  first,  I  described  minutely  the  Prussian 
State  system,  its  studies,  books,  classifications,  modes  of  teaching, 
government,  rewards,  punishments,  &c. ,  &c. ;  a  perfect  catalogue  of 
interesting  facets.  In  my  second,  I  showed  how  this  new  system  could 
be  adopted  in  Massachusetts,  and  how  it  would  affect  every  town, 
every  school,  and  especially  every  family  in  the  State :  yes,  I  took  it 
in  my  hands,  and  carried  it  from  house  to  house,  showing  the  parents 
how  it  would  benefit  their  son  John  and  their  daughter  Mary.  In  my 
third,  I  showed  that  all  these  great,  practical  Christian  results  could  be 
realized  by  establishing  State  Normal  Schools,  and  could  not  be  realized 
without  them  ;  and  therefore  the  proposed  school-reform  must  begin 
with  introducing  such  Normal  Schools. 

After  much  reflection,  I  concluded  that  my  most  direct  and  power- 
ful auxiliaries  would  be  conventions.  Accordingly,  without  consulting 
any  one  out  of  my  own  house,  I  issued,  under  my  own  name,  a  circular 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Plymouth  County,  stating  the  objects  I  had  in 
view,  and  describing  the  good  effects  produced  in  Germany  by  State 
Normal  Schools;  and  then  inviting  the  friends  of  school-reform  to  meet 
in  Plymouth,  in  Court  Week,  and  take  action  in  the  premises.  I  sent 
copies  of  this  circular,  printed  on  letter-paper,  to  each  Board  of  Select- 
man, each  School  Committee,  and  each  clergyman  in  the  county ; 
requesting  clergymen  to  read  it,  on  the  next  Sunday,  to  their  people. 
Most  of  them  read  it.  The  circular  was  kindly  noticed  by  the  leading 
newspapers  of  the  State.  The  large  meeting-house  of  the  First 
Parish  in  Plymouth  was  filled;  and  I  opened  the  whole  matter  as 
clearly  and  strongly  as  I  could,  showing  that  the  great  work  must 
begin  by  founding  a  State  Normal  School  in  Plymouth  County.  I  in- 
vited the  audience  to  catechise  me  as  much  as  they  could  about  my 
views  and  plans;  and  they  did  so.  The  audience  warmed  themselves 
up ;  and  Ichabod  Morton,  Esq.,  deacon  of  the  First  Parish,  rose  and 


8 

said:  ''Mr.  President,  I  am  glad  to  see  this  day.  The  work  is  well 
begun :  the  mass  of  facts  now  presented  to  us  so  plainly,  prove  conclu- 
sively the  inestimable  value  of  teachers'  seminaries.  Mr.  Brooks  says 
he  wants  the  first  one  established  in  the  Old  Colony;  and  so  do  I,  sir; 
and  I  will  give  one  thousand  dollars  towards  its  establishment." 

I  knew  that  the  generous  offer  of  this  humble  and  pious  man  would 
do  more  for  my  cause  than  all  my  lectures;  and  I  therefore  secured  a 
notice  of  it  in  every  newspaper  in  Massachusetts.  Thus  my  client,  the 
Prussian  stranger,  began  its  journey  from  the  Plymouth  Rock. 

Mr.  Morton  gave  me  the  first  right  hand  of  fellowship;  and.  over- 
flowing with  zeal,  he  attended  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  '•Ameri- 
can Institute  of  Instruction,"  and  after  an  earnest  speech  proposed 
the  following :  — 

"Resolved,  That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  obtain  funds  by  soliciting 
our  legislature  the  next  session,  and  inviting  individual  donations  for  the  pur- 
chase of  land,  and  the  erection  of  the  necessary  buildings,  and  to  put  in  operation 
a  seminary  to  qualify  teachers  of  youth  for  the  most  important  occupation  of 
mankind  on  earth." 

This  was  equal  to  a  three-hundred-pound  Parrot  gunshot  in. favor 
of  educational  reform. 

For  the  numerous  conventions  I  called,  I  always  prepared  the 
resolutions  I  wished  to  have  passed ;  and  they  were  generally  passed 
unanimously. 

In  1836  I  gave  public  notice  that  I  would  lecture  on  the  Prussian 
system  of  elementary  instruction  anywhere  in  the  State,  but,  upon  one 
condition,  that  I  would  not,  under  any  circumstances,  receive  any  com- 
pensation for  my  lectures  or  my  travelling  expenses.  I  kept  this 
resolution  inviolable,  till  I  saw  the  legislature  pass  the  vote  establish- 
ing a  Board  of  Education,  which,  of  course,  secured  Normal  Schools,  and 
finished  my  work. 

After  my  offer  to  lecture  thus,  invitations  rushed  in  from  every 
part  of  Massachusetts ;  and  I  commenced  my  missionary  travels,  and 
kept  them  up  till  1838;  having  rode  in  my  chaise  over  two  thousand 
miles. 

My  mode  of  operation  was  this :  To  have  a  convention  called  to 
meet  me  in  every  place  where  I  lectured ;  to  have  as  long  and  warm 
debates  as  possible  after  each  lecture,  and  then  to  pass  the  strongest 
resolutions  I  could  write,  and  publish  them  in  the  newspapers. 

When  newspapers  refused  to  publish  gratuitously,  I  paid  for  the 
insertion.  The  whole  county  of  Plymouth  seemed  to  move  at  once ; 
and  I  went  from  town  to  town,  lecturing  and  debating,  on  an  average, 
twice  a  week,  and  sometimes  more.  Once  I  lectured  eight  times  in 


9 

one  week.  All  religious  denominations  received  me ;  and  clergymen  of 
differing  sects  invited  me  to  exchange  pulpits,  because  all  their  people 
could  go  to  hear  on  Sunday.  Having  taken  Christian  culture  for  the 
basis  of  my  system,  I  could  set  the  Prussian  ideas  in  their  true  Sunday 
light. 

I  kept  up  as  constant  a  succession  of  articles  in  the  newspapers  as 
I  could.  There  were  a  few  papers  that  laughed  at  me  as  a  dreamer 
wishing  to  fill  a  republican  State  with  monarchical  institutions.  In  the 
"  Boston  Daily  Advertiser,"  then  the  leading  paper  in  New  England,  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  College,  in  the  class  of  1811,  after  caustic  criti- 
cism, ridiculing  the  idea  of  Normal  Schools,  concluded  his  classic  com- 
munication by  representing  me  with  a  fool's  cap  on  my  head,  marching 
up  State  Street,  in  Boston,  at  the  head  of  a  crowd  of  ragamuffin  young 
men  and  women,  who  bore  a  banner  with  this  inscription :  "  To  a  Nor- 
mal School  in  the  clouds."  Mr.  President,  the  writer  of  that  article, 
and  the  editor  of  that  paper,  believed  that  the  absurdity  and  ridiculous- 
ness of  my  attempts  were  truly  represented  by  the  State-street  proces- 
sion. Can  we  want  better  proof  of  the  abysmal  ignorance  of  that 
period  upon  that  subject  ?  But  enough  of  my  discouragements.  Their 
name  was  "  Legion." 

Plymouth,  Hingham,  Middleboro',  Scituate,  Duxbury,  Bridgewater, 
and  Kingston  took  the  lead  in  town  action,  in  favor  of  Prussian  Nor- 
mal Schools  in  Plymouth  County.  New  Bedford  was  wide  awake  from 
the  start;  and  the  week  I  staid  there  lecturing  and  debating  filled 
me  with  hopes. 

Some  conventions  passed  eight  or  ten  resolutions.  But  the  four 
points  noticed  in  nearly  every  convention  were  these :  1st,  Deploring 
the  low  state  of  the  public  schools ;  2d,  Expressing  a  readiness  for 
reform ;  3d,  Declaring  a  clear  conviction  that  Normal  Schools  after  the 
Prussian  model  would  reform  and  vitalize  the  whole  system  of  ele- 
mentary education  in  the  State ;  and,  4th,  That  the  surplus  revenue 
should  be  used  for  our  public  schools. 

At  the  close  of  1836,  it  was  thought  that  Plymouth,  Bristol,  and 
Norfolk  Counties  were  ready  to  petition  the  legislature  for  a  Board  of 
Education  and  Normal  Schools. 

The  governor  knew  what  we  had  been  doing,  but  did  not  even 
mention  our  Normal-school  plan  in  his  inaugural  message;  yet  ac- 
knowledged interrogatively  our  Board  of  Education,  thus  : — 

"  Whether  the  creation  of  a  Board  of  Commissioner  of  schools  to  serve  with, 
out  salary,  with  authority  to  appoint  a  Secretary,  on  a  reasonable  compensation, 
to  be  paid  from  the  school-fund,  would  not  be  of  great  utility  ?  " 

2 


10  , 

We  were  grateful  for  a  little  dew,  though  the  State  was  ready 
for  a  copious  shower;  for  six  days  after  this  speech,  Jan.  10,  the 
House  of  Representatives,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  offered  me  their 
Chamber  for  the  delivery,  before  them,  of  my  two  lectures  on  State 
Normal  Schools !  This  showed  the  public  pulse,  and  what  the  Prus- 
sian system  had  really  done.  This  invitation  was  proposed  by  a  mem- 
ber who  was  a  stranger  to  me,  and  was  as  wholly  unexpected  as  it  was 
unsought.  The  whole  heavens  now  seemed  to  me  to  be  filled  with  rain- 
bows. Public  notices  brought  more  to  the  State  House  than  the 
Chamber  would  hold.  I  believe  the  Hon.  Edmund  Dwight  got  in.  On 
that  evening,  I  laid  out  all  my  strength,  and  suited  my  lecture  to  my 
audience  as  well  as  I  could.  Both  lectures  were  kindly  received  ;  and 
the  next  week  the  newspapers  through  the  State  contained  communi- 
cations from  the  members  of  the  legislature ;  some  calling  the  new 
movement  by  funny  names.  I  had  a  shower  of  invitations  to  repeat 
these  lectures  in  different  parts  of  the  Commonwealth ;  and  I  went 
from  Cape  Cod  to  Berkshire,  the  only  lecturer  in  the  field. 

While  at  Boston,  I  had  the  best  opportunity  of  urging  immediate 
action  by  the  legislature  of  1837  ;  and  the  Committee  on  Education 
gave  me  a  patient  hearing.  From  what  members  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  told  me,  I  felt  it  in  my  very  bones,  that  the 
great  questions  of  a  Board  of  Education  and  Normal  Schools  were 
settled  in  Massachusetts,  and,  if  settled  here,  then  throughout  New  Eng- 
land. Mr.  President,  at  that  early  time  I  felt  the  very  same  assurance 
that  these  blessed  institutions  would  soon  come  into  existence  in  the 
Old  Bay  State,  as  I  now  feel  that  the  cursed  institution  of  slavery  will 
go  out  of  existence  in  rebeldom. 

The  Plymouth-county  Convention  was  held  at  Halifax,  24th  of 
January,  1837.  The  circular  I  wrote  convening  it  was  very  long; 
and  printed  copies  were  read  from  the  pulpit ;  and  every  town,  but  two, 
was  represented :  some  sent  two  delegates,  some  six,  some  sent  all  the 
clergymen,  some  the  school  committee.  I  prepared,  by  request,  all 
the  business,  the  resolutions,  and  the  questions  ;  also  a  draft  of  the 
petition  to  the  legislature.  The  Convention  was  very  large  and  intel- 
ligent; through  a  day  discussed  the  vital  topics  with  feeling  and 
power,  and  voted  unanimously  to  present  the  petition  for  Normal 
Schools,  and  requested  me  to  attend  to  and  defend  it  before  the 
Committee  on  Education. 

Mr.  Ichabod  Morton's  resolution  in  the  American  Institute,  to 
petition  for  the  same  things,  was  accepted :  George  B.  Emerson, 
Esq.,  was  appointed  to  draft  the  petition ;  and  he  wrote  one,  which,  for 
comprehension  of  thought,  force  of  statement,  truth  of  reasoning,  and 


11 

persuasiveness  of  spirit,  could  not  be  surpassed.  It  must  have  carried 
conviction  to  every  reasoning  mind.  It  does  my  heart  good  to  thank,  for 
the  second  time,  this  distinguished  friend  of  education  for  his  Normal- 
school  petition.  He  has  laid  future  generations  among  us  under 
obligations  to  his  personal  labors  as  a  teacher,  and  to  his  pen  as  a 
philosopher  and  Christian. 

Feb.  28,  1837,  Rev.  Dr.  Channing  was  moved  to  help  us;  and 
on  that  day,  in  a  public  address,  he  said :  "  We  need  an  institution  for 
the  formation  of  better  teachers  ;  and,  until  this  step  is  taken,  we  can 
make  no  important  progress.  An  institution  for  training  men  to  train 
the  young  would  be  a  fountain  of  living  waters  sending  forth  streams 
to  refresh  present  and  future  ages.  We  trust  that  our  legislators  will 
not  always  prove  blind  to  the  highest  interest  of  the  State." 

The  Board  of  Education  was  established  by  a  vote  of  the  legis- 
lature. On  the  20th  of  April,  1837,  it  was  approved  by  the  governor  ; 
and,  on  the  29th  of  June,  it  was  organized.  This  act  was  avowed  to 
be  prospective  to  State  Normal  Schools.  Never  was  a  heart  fuller  of 
gratitude  to  God  than  was  mine.  I  felt  that  my  work  was  done  ;  for  I 
had  said  in  public  and  private,  over  and  over  again,  that,  if  a  Board  of 
Education  could  be  obtained,  its  first  duty  and  interest  would  be  to 
secure  Normal  Schools.  Does  not  daylight  in  the  east  promise  the 
coming  of  the  sun  ? 

I  had  proposed  Hon.  James  G.  Carter  as  the  Secretary  of  the 
Board  ;  but  the  choice  fell  on  his  rival,  Hon.  Horace  Mann,  who,  on 
that  day,  was  summoned  to  an  unaccustomed  calling.  On  that  day  he 
laid  down  his  law-books,  and  took  up  his  school-books ;  and  what  a 
scholar  he  made  himself!  Not  a  man  in  the  commonwealth  could 
have  planned  more  wisely  or  executed  more  successfully.  The  record 
of  his  labors  will  be  his  everlasting  monument. 

He  invited  me  to  keep  on  lecturing  about  Normal  Schools  until 
they  were  secured.  I  told  him  they  were  already  secured,  and  no  power 
could  stop  them.  I  went  through  the  State,  lecturing  on  school- 
reform  at  Worcester,  Springfield,  Northampton,  Deerfield,  and  many 
other  smaller  places. 

Mr.  Mann  wisely  adopted  the  system  of  county  conventions.  I 
requested  him  to  appoint  such  a  convention  to  meet  at  Hanover,  Ply- 
mouth County,  because  I  knew  that  Hon.  John  Q.  Adams  was  at 
Quincy,  and  Hon.  Daniel  Webster  at  Marshfield ;  and  I  was  resolved 
to  secure  their  approbation  of  State  Normal  Schools.  I  invited  them. 
Mr.  Adams,  in  a  very  long  letter,  refused  to  attend,  on  account  of  his 
"  ignorance  of  the  subject."  Mr.  Webster  said  he  would  come,  but,  as 
he  had  a  cold,  would  not  speak.  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  tlu-m 


both  there.  They  listened  to  our  explanations  in  the  morning  and  in 
the  afternoon.  We  had  a  noble,  characteristic  speech  from  each.  I 
took  notes,  and  printed  the  speeches  in  a  pamphlet,  and  sent  a  copy  to 
every  school  committee  and  clergyman  in  the  State,  and  also  to  each 
member  of  the  legislature  of  1838,  before  whom  the  question  of  State 
Normal  Schools  was  to  come.  The  distinguished  orators  emphatically 
approved  of  our  labors,  and  hoped  that  Normal  Schools  would  be 
established,  not  only  in  Massachusetts,  but  throughout  the  United 
States. 

The  Board  of  Education  began  by  instituting  a  course  of  lectures 
to  be  delivered  by  different  gentlemen  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
appointing  their  Secretary  for  the  first  lecture.  They  invited  me  to 
deliver  the  second,  and  requested  me  to  speak  on  «  Normal  Schools 
and  school-reform."  My  evening  was  the  25th  of  January,  1858. 
The  newspapers  reported  my  arguments  for  State  Normal  Schools ;  and 
the  governor,  who  wrote  the  first  Annual  Eeport  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, recommended,  eight  days  afterwards,  that  the  legislature 
should  establish  Normal  Schools.  Mr.  Dwight  gave  ten  thousand 
dollars  for  the  purpose ;  and,  on  the  19th  of  April,  the  legislature 
accepted  his  patriotic  gift,  and  established  the  first  State  Normal  School 
on  this  continent. 

My  cup  of  joy  was  full ;  and  the  19th  of  April,  1838,  has  ever  since 
been  a  red-letter  day  in  my  memory.  After  the  vote  in  the  legisla- 
ture was  declared,  a  witty  lawyer  said  to  me,  «  Mr.  Brooks,  was  it  an 
accident,  or  was  it  by  design,  that  you  had  your  Prussian  CR*  hatched 
on  the  19th  of  April?" 

One  word  more  for  my  client,  the  school-system  of  Prussia,  and  I 
am  done.  The  Prussian  system,  with  its  two  central  powers,  a  Board 
of  Education  and  Normal  Schools,  was  not  known  in  New  England 
when  I  first  described  it,  in  public,  in  1835 ;  but,  on  the  19th  of  April, 
1838,  Massachusetts,  the  banner  State,  adopted  State  Normal  Schools 
by  statute.  Remembering  well  how  the  good  leaven  spread  in  1835-8, 
I  say  it  was  the  Prussian  system  which  wrought  out  the  educational 
regeneration  of  New  England. 

The  beautiful  fountain  "Arethusa"  sank  under  the  ground  in 
Greece,  passed  under  the  sea,  and  re-appeared  in  Sicily ;  but  the  Sici- 
lians have  never  regretted  the  appearance  of  that  foreign  blessing 
among  them. 


A    LECTURE 


PROSPECTIVE    SYSTEM     OF    NATIONAL    EDUCATION 
FOR    THE    UNITED    STATES; 


CONSISTING   OP 


FREE  SCHOOLS,  FREE  COLLEGES,  AND  FREE  UNIVERSITIES. 

Delivered,  by  request  of  the  School  Committee,  in  the  Town  Ilcdl  of  Medford,  Mass., 

Oct.  17,  1864. 


MEDFORD,  OCT.  3,  1864. 
Rev.  CHARLES  BROOKS. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  The  undersigned,  a  Sub-Committee  appointed  by  the  Board 
of  School  Committee  of  Medford,  desire  to  express  to  you  the  great  gratification 
with  which  we  listened  to  the  valuable  and  interesting  outline  of  a  PLAN  OF 
NATIONAL  INSTRUCTION,  presented  and  read  by  you  at4a  recent  meeting  of  our 
Board ;  and  as  the  subject  is  one  of  vast  importance  to  the  future  interests  of 
our  growing  republic,  and  involves  considerations  of  the  weightiest  moment  to 
all  the  friends  of  education,  we  are  anxious  that  greater  publicity  should  be  given 
to  your  views  ;  and  would  therefore  invite  you,  at  your  earliest  convenience,  to 
address  a  meeting  to  be  convened  for  the  purpose,  before  which  your  plan  can 
be  more  fully  laid,  with  such  additions  as  your  experience  may  suggest.  A  life 
devoted  as  yours  has  been  to  the  cause  of  education,  and  so  fruitful  in  practical 
and  positive  results,  would  seem  to  point  to  you  as  one  eminently  fitted  to  inau- 
gurate this  work ;  and  we  trust  that  your  plan  will  so  commend  itself  to  the 
intelligence  of  our  people  as  to  lead  to  its  adoption  in  every  State. 

With  great  respect  we  have  the  honor  to  subscribe  ourselves, 
Yours  faithfully  for  the  cause  of  Education, 

JOHN  S.  BARRY,      ^         Of  the 
GEO.  M.  PRESTON,  >  School  Committee 
E.   BOTNTON,   Jr.,      }       of  Medford. 


15 


LECTURE. 


THE  Quarter  Centennial  Normal-school  Celebration,  July  1,  1864, 
unexpectedly  brought  before  the  public  my  labors  for  schools  in 
1835-38. 

Since  then,  various  requests  have  been  made  for  me  to  give  some 
account  of  my  subsequent  efforts  in  other  States.  This  I  should  not 
have  done,  had  not  Prof.  Agassiz,  in  his  recent  speech  at  Springfield, 
mentioned  one  of  the  points  contained  in  a  system  of  national  educa- 
tion, which  I  dreAv  up  in  1839.  Availing  myself  of  so  powerful  an 
auxiliary,  I  would  now  state  a  few  of  the  facts  requested,  merely  to 
show  the  continuity  in  the  steps  of  educational  reform  at  that  time. 

State  Normal  Schools  having  been  secured  to  Massachusetts  in 
1838,  I  commenced  lecturing  on  Normal  Schools  and  National  Educa- 
tion in  the  other  New-England  States ;  and  then  in  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  Philadelphia,  and  Washington. 

New-York  Evening  Star,  March  18,  1839. 

"It  is  with  no  ordinary  gratification  that  we  notice  that  the  Philadelphia 
papers  have  just  published  a  call  for  a  'National  Education  Convention'  to  be 
held  in  that  city  in  November  next.  This  movement  was  suggested  by  Prof. 
Charles  Brooks,  of  Massachusetts,  in  his  lectures  recently  delivered  in  that  city. 
We  trust  the  members  of  the  Convention  will  come  prepared  to  recommend  a 
'National  System  of  Education'  which  will  approve  itself  to  the  friends  of 
freedom  and  humanity. 

"At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  'American  Lyceum,'  held  in  the  city  of  New 
York  on  the  3d,  4th,  and  6th  of  May,  1839,  the  following  resolutions,  proposed 
by  Prof.  Brooks  of  Massachusetts,  were  maturely  considered,  and  unanimously 
adopted :  — 

"'Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  to  hold  a  National  Convention,  for  one  week, 
in  the  HALL  OF  INDEPENDENCE,  at  Philadelphia,  beginning  on  the  22d  of  No- 
vember next,  at  10  o'clock,  A.M.,  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the  various 
topics  connected  with  elementary  and  popular  education  in  the  United  States. 

" '  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  now  appointed  to  request  the  gov- 
ernor (and,  if  in  session,  the  legislature)  of  each  jState  in  the  Union,  to  invite 
the  friends  of  education  in  their  State  to  attend  the  Convention.'  —  Coj>y  of 
Records." 


16 

It  was  my  purpose  to  have  the  venerable  John  Quincy  Adams 
preside  in  the  National  Convention.  To  my  letter  inviting  him  to  do 
so,  I  received  the  following :  — 

QUINCY,  1st  July,  1839. 
Rev.  CHARLES  BROOKS. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  At  the  commencement  of  our  Revolutionary  War,  there 
was  a  class  of  citizens,  in  the  prime  of  life,  volunteers  in  the  service  of  their 
country,  not  enlisted  soldiers,  and  known  by  the  name  of  Minute-Men ;  so  called 
from  the  principle  of  the  association,  which  was,  that  every  one  of  them 
should  be  ready  at  one  minute's  notice  to  march  to  any  indicated  point,  to  meet  and 
repel  the  enemy. 

I  am,  or  ought  to  be,  as  every  man  of  my  age  ought  to  be,  a  minute-man  for 
the  other  world ;  and  it  is  therefore  impossible  for  me  to  contract  for  attendance 
at  any  meeting  in  this  so  far  distant  time  as  the  20th  of  next  November.  I 
cannot  engage  to  meet  you  on  that  day  in  Philadelphia.  Nor  is  it  for  me,  for 
the  same  and  for  other  reasons  equally  cogent,  to  take  the  lead  in  your  laudable 
great  national  movement  for  the  advancement  of  education,  by  presiding  at  the 
meeting. 

If  I  can  make  my  arrangements  so  as  to  be  at  Philadelphia  on  the  20th  of 
November,  I  will  cheerfully  attend  the  meeting,  and  give  its  objects  all  my  good 
wishes,  and  any  assistance  that  may  be  in  my  power. 

I  am,  dear  Sir,  faithfully  your  friend, 

J.  QUINCY  ADAMS. 

The  Convention  met.  It  was  large,  and  composed  of  most  distin- 
guished men,  from  different  parts  of  the  Union,  and  was  called  "  A 
Convention  of  Sages  and  Philanthropists." 

The  resolutions,  prepared,  discussed,  and  passed  with  entire  una- 
nimity, were  the  following:  — 

"  Whereas  the  cause  of  popular  education  is  one  which  should  command  the 
energy  and  zeal  of  every  lover  of  his  country,  and  which  calls  for  the  united 
action  of  the  citizens  of  this  republic ;  therefore, — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  National  Convention  of  the  friends  of  education,  now  in 
session  in  Philadelphia,  desire  that  an  earnest  appeal  be  made,  in  their  behalf,  to 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  relation  to  this  interesting  cause,  embody- 
ing the  precepts  contained  in  the  Farewell  Address  of  the  immortal  Washington, 
and  the  spirit  of  his  compatriots  of  the  Revolution. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  memorial  from  this  Convention  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  be  prepared,  asking  an  early  appropriation  of  the  Smithsonian 
legacy  to  the  purposes  of  education,  for  which  it  was  designed  by  the  generous 
philanthropist  whose  name  it  bears. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  memorial  be  prepared  by  the  Convention  to  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  urging  upon  that  body  the  propriety  of  appropriating  all, 
or  a  part,  of  the  proceeds  of  sales  of  public  lands  for  the  purposes  of  education. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  memorial  be  presented,  on  behalf  of  this  Convention,  to 
the  legislatures  of  the  several  States  of  the  Union,  urging  the  establishment 
of  the  system  of  general  education,  whereby  free  and  common  schools  may  be 
made  accessible  to  all,  and  that  knowledge  secured  to  the  people  which  is  the 
bulwark  of  social  and  political  happiness,  and  freedom. 


17 

"And  whereas  it  is  most  important  to  rally  the  friends  of  education  through- 
out our  widely  extended  country  ;  therefore  it  is  further  — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  governors  of  the  several  States  be  requested  by  this 
Convention  to  direct,  in  their  messages,  the  attention  of  the  legislatures  to  the 
state  of  popular  education  in  their  respective  States ;  and  also,  that  they  offi- 
cially promote  immediate  inquiry  how  the  same  can  be  improved. 

"Resolved,  That  the  National  Convention,  now  in  session  in  Philadelphia, 
recommend  to  the  friends  of  education,  in  the  several  States  of  the  Union,  the 
holding  of  State  Conventions,  or  the  formation  of  State  Education  Societies,  for 
the  promotion  of  the  cause  of  education  by  such  means  as  may  seem  to  them 
most  suitable. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  general  Convention  of  the  friends  of  education,  to  consist 
of  delegates  from  State  Conventions,  lyceums,  public  bodies,  connected  institu- 
tions for  education,  or  from  regularly  constituted  public  meetings  of  the  friends 
of  the  cause,  be  held  in  Washington  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  May  next. 

"Resolved,  That  this  Convention  recommend  to  the  several  State  Conven- 
tions to  appoint  delegates  to  the  National  Convention,  to  be  held  hi  Washington, 
and  a  Standing  Committee,  to  correspond  with  the  Committee  of  the  National 
Convention. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  President  and  Vice-Presidents  of  this  Convention  be 
authorized  to  appoint  the  requisite  number  of  Committees,  to  consist  of  five 
'  members  each,  to  prepare  the  address  and  memorials  contemplated  in  the  pre- 
ceding resolutions. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  Convention  be  signed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, Vice-Presidents,  and  Secretaries  ;  and  that  the  editors  of  the  papers  in  the 
United  States,  friendly  to  the  cause  of  education,  be  earnestly  requested  to  give 
them  an  insertion  in  their  columns." 

Thus  we  see  how  fully  this  Convention  of  "  sages  and  philanthro- 
pists "  comprehended  the  sacred  importance  and  vastness  of  their 
work ;  and  how  methodically  and  practically  they  took  every  efficient 
step  to  bring  the  great  question,  first  before  Congress  and  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  then  before  each  State,  and  finally  before  each 
town  ;  and  then  proceeded  to  secure  a  full  attendance  at  a  second 
National  Convention,  to  be  held  at  Washington  the  next  year,  when 
Congress  would  be  in  session. 

If  I  had  had  the  drawing-up  of  the  resolutions,  and  the  appointing 
of  the  Committees,  they  could  not  have  been  more  perfectly  accordant 
with  my  suggestions  and  plans. 

It  was  in  this  Convention  that  I  was  to  bring  forward  the  System 
of  National  Education  which  I  had  prepared.  I  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve it  would  have  been  received  with  the  most  friendly  feelings  ;  and 
that  a  Committee  would  have  been  chosen  to  examine  it,  and  report  at 
the  May  Convention  in  Washington. 

It  was  to  me  the  deepest  regret  that  I  could  not  attend  the  Phila- 
delphia Convention  of  the  22d  of  November.  The  arrangement  of 
the  courses  of  lectures  on  Natural  History,  at  the  Sorbonne  and  Gar- 

3 


18 

den  of  Plants,  in  Paris,  compelled  me  to  leave  America,  Sept.  9,  1839, 
in  order  to  attend  them.  I  wished  to  show  to  that  Convention  how 
a  truly  national  system  would  be  but  the  natural  consequence  of  the 
principles  and  methods  we  had  adopted  in  Massachusetts  ;  and  that  a 
republic,  where  every  citizen  has  equal  rights,  can  give  vitality  and 
usefulness  to  a  general  system  of  free  national  education  as  no  other 
power  on  earth  can.  This  year  of  1864  brings  to  my  mind  deeper 
and  clearer  faith  that  our  re-organized  and  regenerated  Union  will  be 
able  to  accomplish  what  no  nation  has  accomplished  since  the  Christian 
era.  Our  republic  is  to  stand  and  flourish  through  more  centuries 
than  did  the  Grecian  or  Roman.  The  next  hundred  years  will  see 
two  hundred  millions  of  free  and  patriotic  citizens  within  our  bor- 
ders. Five  years  from  this  time  should  see  our  National  Constitution 
altered,  and  our  National  Government  established  upon  the  broadest 
and  deepest  foundation. 

Is  not  now  the  time,  therefore,  to  start  the  discussion  of  the  great 
system  of  national  education  suited  to  our  thousand  years'  life,  and  our 
nameless  millions  of  inhabitants  ?  Let  us  expand  our  minds  to  this 
great  conception,  and  look  at  the  matter  from  this  angle.  Let  us  plant, 
that  others  may  reap.  Some  little,  invisible,  winged  seed  may  fall  on 
good  ground,  spring  up,  and  bring  forth  fruit  a  hundred-fold. 

I  propose  now  to  give  a  brief  abstract  of  my  system  of  democratic 
national  education,  and  thus  close  the  history  of  my  labors  in  this 
department.  I  wished  to  address  the  Convention  thus :  — 

All  children  by  nature  have  equal  rights  to  education.  A  repub- 
lic, by  the  very  principles  of  republicanism,  is  socially,  politically,  and 
morally  bound  to  see  that  all  the  talent  born  within  its  territory  is 
developed  in  its  natural  order,  proper  time,  and  due  proportion ;  thus 
enabling  every  mind  to  make  the  most  of  itself.  The  republican  State 
stands  in  loco  parentis  to  every  child,  and  is  therefore  bound  to  use 
all  the  means  and  capabilities  sent  by  Heaven  for  its  highest  aggran- 
dizement. 

The  question,  then,  is,  How  can  our  Union  thus  promote  its  own 
highest  good?  I  answer,  By  the  establishment  of  FREE  SCHOOLS, 
FREE  COLLEGES,  and  FREE  UNIVERSITIES. 

Extend  the  New-England  idea  of  free  schools,  and  the  true  demo- 
cratic result  is  reached.  It  may  be  illustrated  thus :  The  town  says 
to  every  child  born  within  its  limits,  "  Go  to  the  Primary  School  as 
soon  as  you  are  four  years  old ;  there  you  will  find  rooms,  books,  and 
teachers  :  use  them  all  gratis ;  your  parents  need  only  clothe  and  feed 
you."  When  these  children  have  been  four  years  in  the  Primary 


19 

School,  the  town  says  to  them,  "Go  up  into  the  Grammar  School; 
there  you  will  find  rooms,  books,  and  teachers :  use  them  all  at  our 
expense ;  your  parents  need  only  clothe  and  feed  you."  When  these 
pupils  have  spent  four  years  in  the  Grammar  Schools,  the  town  again 
says  to  them,  "  Go  up  into  the  High  School ;  there  you'will  find  rooms, 
books,  apparatus,  and  teachers :  use  them  all  gratis ;  your  parents  need 
only  clothe  and  feed  you."  When  these  pupils  have  spent  four  years 
in  the  High  School,  and  the  town  has  done  all  it  can  for  them,  then 
the  State  says  to  them,  "  Go  up  into  the  College,  and  enter  the  de- 
partment for  which  you  are  prepared ;  there  you  will  find  rooms, 
books,  apparatus,  and  teachers :  use  them  all  gratis ;  your  parents  need 
only  clothe  and  feed  you."  When  these  students  have  passed  through 
four  years  of  College  instruction  and  discipline,  the  United  States  says 
to  them,  "  Go  up  into  the  National  University,  and  enter  any  depart- 
ment for  which  you  can  prove  yourself  prepared  ;  there  you  will  find 
rooms,  books,  apparatus.,  and  teachers :  use  them  all  gratis ;  your 
parents  need  only  clothe  and  feed  you." 

Thus  following  up  the  New-England  idea  of  pure,  republican, 
democratic  education,  I  arrived  at  the  necessity  of  free  NATIONAL 
UNIVERSITIES.  To  give  a  full  description  of  the  foundation,  powers, 
character,  uses,  and  utility  of  the  two  Universities  of  my  plan,  would 
take  a  small  octavo  volume.  The  abstract  and  outline  I  now  propose 
to  give  will,  I  fear,  be  necessarily  so  brief  and  imperfect  as  to  afford 
you  but  small  satisfaction.  Poor  as  they  are,  they  are  as  follows :  — 

Two  NATIONAL  UNIVERSITIES. 

These  two  Universities  shall  be  the  property  of  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  be  under  the  control  of  the  national  government 

Location.  —  One  of  these  National  Universities  shall  be  placed  near 
the  centre  of  that  part  of  the  republic  which  is  this  side  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  The  other  should  be  placed  near  the  centre  of  that  part 
of  the  republic  which  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
A  hundred  years  would  find  them  surrounded  by  a  vast  population. 
Twenty  miles  square  of  land  should  be  appropriated  to  each ;  contain- 
ing a  mountain,  a  river,  and  a  waterfall. 

Appropriation.  —  Twenty  millions  of  dollars  should  be  appropriated 
to  each  as  a  beginning. 

Officers  of  Government  and  Instruction.  —  There  shall  be  a  Presi- 
dent, Vice-President,  Professors,  Tutors,  and  Assistants  ;  all  of  whom, 
except  the  President,  shall  be  teachers :  and  they  shall  assist  the 
President  in  the  daily  government  of  the  University. 


20 

Governmental  Supervision.  —  Congress  shall  appoint,  to  each  Uni- 
versity, fifty  gentlemen  who  are  known  to  be  most  acquainted  with  the 
studies  to  be  pursued.  They  shall  be  called  the  University  Board  of 
Overseers;  and  they  shall  determine  the  courses  of  study  and  the 
modes  of  government.  Each  member  of  the  Board  shall  hold  his  office 
for  ten  years,  after  the  expiration  of  the  first  ten  years.  Before  the 
expiration  of  that  time,  five  members  shall  annually  retire,  and  five  be 
chosen  in  their  place.  The  Board  shall  present  annually  to  Congress  a 
minute  report  of  the  condition,  wants,  and  prospects  of  the  University. 

Elections.  —  The  Board  of  Overseers  shall  nominate  to  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  the  gentlemen  whom  they  wish  to  be  elected  as 
President,  Vice-President,  Professors,  Tutors,  and  Assistants.  When 
the  Senate  have  chosen  the  candidate  thus  nominated,  they  shall  report 
the  name  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  his  approval  or 
rejection. 

Candidates.  —  The  candidates  for  any  office  of  teacher  shall  pre- 
sent themselves  together  before  the  Board  of  Overseers  for  examination, 
and  shall  there  go  through  a  concours,  as  in  France,  where  each  candi- 
date is  Examined  by  his  competitors  and  the  Board ;  and  the  victorious 
competitor  shall  be  nominated  to  the  Senate. 

Course  of  Studies.  —  In  these  National  Universities  shall  be  taught, 
by  the  most  accomplished  teachers,  every  thing  which  can  make  a  great 
Christian  nation  healthy,  learned,  polished,  heroic,  powerful,  prosperous, 
and  good.  The  course  of  studies  should  be  such  as  aim  constantly  at 
these  results.  The  Universities  must  not  be  reservoirs  only ;  they 
must  be  fountains.  They  must  not  only  teach  what  is  known,  but  be 
pioneers  in  discovering  truths  heretofore  unknown  and  powers  here- 
tofore untried,  and  then  reducing  such  new  forces  to  their  practical 
applications.  They  are  thus  to  send  new  life  and  power  into  every 
college,  workshop,  and  family  in  the  land. 

I  must  leave  to  others  more  competent  the  arrangement  of  studies, 
and  shall  content  myself  with  merely  naming  a  few  of  the  departments 
of  study ;  such  as  may  give  a  glance  at  the  magnitude  and  objects  of 
my  plan.  The  order  in  which  I  shall  name  them  will  be  nearly  acci- 
dental ;  and  the  necessary  studies,  not  named,  may  be  as  numerous  as 
those  I  record.  I  begin  with, — 

Theology  and  Religion.  —  The  Universities  shall  furnish  places  for 
public  worship  and  religious  teaching  to  each  Christian  denomination. 
Theological  professors  and  Christian  preachers,  in  each  denomination, 
shall  be  nominated,  by  their  respective  denominations,  to  the  Board  of 
Overseers,  and  then  be  elected  and  paid  as  other  professors  and  teach- 
ers. These  professors  and  teachers,  in  each  sect,  shall  be  the  teachers 


21 

of  the  classes  in  their  respective  theological  schools.  Every  thing  era- 
bracing  a  complete  theological  and  clerical  education  shall  be  taught  to 
those  who  have  dedicated  themselves  to  the  Christian  ministry.  Every 
such  student  shall  have  the  fullest  liberty  of  pursuing  any  of  the  dif- 
ferent courses  of  theological  and  religious  instruction  allowed  in  the 
Universities. 

Each  undergraduate  shall  attend  public  worship  on  Sunday,  and 
shall  have  liberty  of  selecting  his  religious  teacher  on  that  day. 

While  every  Christian  preacher  shall  be  at  liberty,  on  Sunday,  to 
discuss  in  his  sermons  polemically  any  sectarian  doctrine  or  creed,  it 
is  to  be  hoped  he  would  benevolently  study  the  ages  and  antecedents 
of  his  audience,  and  generally  devote  himself  to  explaining  and  enfor- 
cing man's  duties  to  himself,  to  his  neighbor,  and  to  his  God ;  and  thus 
illustrate  how  purity,  justice,  holiness,  benevolence,  and  piety  make  the 
soul  grow  in  heavenly  grace,  and  shape  the  immortal  character ;  in 
other  words,  to  strive  to  make  the  young  like  Abraham  in  faith,  like 
Paul  in  labors,  like  John  in  love,  and  like  Christ  in  every  thing. 
"  Deus  et  Christus :  Ratio  et  Lux. " 

Medical  School.  —  In  this  department  shall  be  studied,  by  those  pre- 
paring for  the  medical  profession,  anatomy,  surgery,  chemistry,  botany, 
mineralogy,  zoology,  physiology,  pathology,  materia  medica,  and  what- 
ever else  relates  to  the  science  of  vital  forces,  disease  and  health. 

Natural  History.  —  All  the  branches  of  natural  history  to  be  taught 
and  then  illustrated  by  gardens  of  plants,  museums  of  specimens  in 
zoology,  comparative  anatomy,  mineralogy,  botany,  &c.  There  should 
be  a  very  large  farm  for  teaching  every  part  of  agriculture ;  for  trying 
the  productiveness  and  value  of  all  kinds  of  seeds  which  can  be  procured 
in  the  world ;  and  also  for  the  introduction  and  improvement  of  the 
best  breeds  of  animals  for  labor  and  food. 

School  of  Practical  Science.  —  In  this  department  shall  be  taught 
all  the  science  that  belongs  to  architecture,  navigation,  engineering, 
transportation  of  persons  and  things.  The  above  studies  to  be  illus- 
trated from  a  collection  of  model  machines,  like  the  United-States 
Patent-office.  Workshops  for  constructing  machines  and  trying  ex- 
periments in  dynamics. 

Science,  whether  it  be  natural,  physical,  mental,  moral,  mathemati- 
cal, absolute,  or  abstract,  should  have  its  high  place  in  the  required 
course  of  studies  ;  and  in  each  department  there  should  be  such  aids  and 
means  of  illustration  as  the  observatory  furnishes  to  the  astronomer. 
No  money  or  labor  should  be  spared  in  making  the  two  observatories 
of  our  National  Universities  equal  to  any  in  existence.  How  much 
we  now  need  the  help  of  such  a  class  of  men,  who  would  devote  them- 


22 

selves  to  the  science  of  climatology;  and,  after  collecting  authentic 
records  from  every  part  of  the  world,  so  classify  and  arrange  the  data 
as  to  evolve  the  laws  which  govern  the  weather  during  the  earth's 
revolution  round  the  sun. 

Laio  School.  —  In  this  department  the  most  extended  legal  education 
shall  be  required ;  embracing  all  the  known  branches  and  relationships 
of  law,  first  in  this  country,  and  then  in  foreign  countries  and  distant 
times  ;  also  politics,  as  a  branch  of  legal  science  and  national  law, 
reduced  to  a  system  of  justice  and  morality;  also  government,  its 
science  and  character  in  all  nations,  and  especially  its  nature,  laws, 
and  purposes  in  our  republic. 

Military  School.  —  It  should  be  mainly  like  West- Point  Acade- 
my ;  and  should  be  the  means  of  introducing  a  drill  exercise  into 
all  the  classes  of  undergraduates. 

School  of  Fine  Arts.  —  Sculpture,  painting,  and  music,  with  all 
their  associated  branches  of  study  and  labor,  should  be  taught  in  their 
fullest  developments ;  and  galleries  of  sculpture,  painting,  engraving, 
&c.,  should  be  collected  as  aids  and  illustrations. 

Libraries.  —  One  million  of  dollars  would  be  a  small  appropriation 
for  commencing  such  a  library  as  would  be  necessary  for  one  National 
University.  A  catalogue  raisonne  of  the  books  that  should  be  studied 
in  our  Universities  would  fill  a  volume.  This  subject  and  others  I 
have  not  mentioned,  hoping  that  my  plan  for  our  great  seminaries  may 
be  descried  even  amidst  the  brief  and  broken  notices  which  I  have 
given  of  topics  of  study  and  modes  of  procedure. 

Literature.  —  All  the  results  of  learning,  knowledge,  and  imagination 
which  have  been  recorded,  and  which  properly  come  under  the  head  of 
literature,  shall  be  taught  in  extenso.  All  languages,  from  the  oldest 
Oriental  to  the  most  modern,  which  can  illustrate  for  practical  purposes 
the  history  of  human  progress,  shall  be  taught  from  the  best  authorities 
in  each ;  thus  introducing  logic  and  metaphysics,  poetry  and  philosophy, 
history  and  fable,  oratory  and  taste,  to  their  appropriate  spheres.  The 
power  which  true  classical  learning  has  for  quickening  human  thought, 
expanding  national  sympathies,  and  firing  noblest  ambition,  should  be 
carefully  brought  to  bear  upon  every  scholar  in  the  Union. 

Lectures.  —  When  a  teacher  has  finished  his  lecture,  then  should 
follow,  under  his  guidance,  a  voluntary  debate  or  discussion  of  the 
subject  treated,  by  the  whole  class.  A  lecture  should  also  be  delivered 
by  each  member  of  a  class,  followed  by  a  voluntary,  extemporaneous 
debate  on  the  topic  treated.  In  these  semi-concours,  the  presiding 
officer  should  do  all  he  can  to  bring  into  powerful  action  all  the 
available  knowledge  and  skill  of  the  class. 


23 

Exploring  Expeditions  and  Travelling  Scholars.  —  Corps  of  these, 
in  every  material  department,  must  penetrate  every  quarter  of  the 
globe,  and  bring  home  descriptions  or  models  of  whatever  will  add 
to  and  enrich  our  institutions,  laws,  trade,  arts,  and  agencies.  They 
must  form  scientific,  literary,  and  educational  alliances  with  the  great 
institutions  of  other  countries,  and  strive  to  bring  into  general  favor 
the  simple  and  all-powerful  plan  of  God  for  universal  culture. 

Review  of  Studies.  —  In  every  .department  of  study,  the  students 
shall  review  their  lessons  very  often ;  and  the  marks  of  relative  rank, 
given  by  the  examining  teacher  after  these  recitations,  shall  be  counted 
as  the  highest  in  value. 

Annual  Examination.  —  Near  the  close  of  each  academical  year, 
all  the  undergraduates  shall  be  examined  with  searching  scrutiny  by 
the  Board  of  Overseers,  who  may  call  to  their  aid  other  scholars  in 
the  country,  who  are  distinguished  for  their  attainments  in  particular 
branches  of  learning.  The  results  of  these  examinations  are  to  make 
part  of  the  annual  report  to  Congress,  and  also  a  part  of  the  marks  by 
which  the  relative  rank  of  each  scholar  shall  be  determined  at  the  end 
of  the  year. 

Degrees.  —  These  being  signs,  no  undergraduate  should  receive  the 
sign  until  he  has  proved,  under  examination,  that  he  possesses  the  thing 
signified.  The  diploma  should  designate  the  department  and  the  rela- 
tive rank  of  the  graduating  student.  To  decide  this  rank,  the  marks 
of  the  last  year  shall  be  counted,  and  then  the  marks  of  the  last  annual 
examination,  and  then  those  of  the  final  concours.  He  who  has  the 
highest  number  from  all  these  shall  receive  DIPLOMA  No.  1 ;  he  who 
has  the  next  highest  number  shall  receive  DIPLOMA  No.  2  ;  and  so 
on,  through  the  two  or  three  thousand  who  may  graduate.  If  any  in 
the  class  fail  to  reach  the  lowest  number  entitling  a  student  to  a  degree, 
they  shall  leave  the  University  without  any  recommendation. 

I  had  hoped  to  extend  this  programme  much  farther;  but  have 
concluded,  that,  the  more  I  added,  the  more  I  should  be  dissatisfied  with 
it ;  and,  as  my  dissatisfaction  is  already  enormous,  I  conclude  to  stop. 

I  may  be  allowed  here  most  emphatically  to  forbid  that  the  defects, 
omissions,  or  inconsistencies  of  these  details  shall  be  quoted  against  my 
fundamental  principle  and  general  idea  of  National  Universities.  I 
believe  the  fundamental  plan  is  a  practical,  patriotic,  humane,  ami 
Christian  plan  ;  and  that  wiser  men  and  better  scholars  may  be  found 
who  can  fill  up  philosophically  and  harmoniously  the  details. 

The  infant  of  to-day  may  live  to  see  two  hundred  millions  of  free, 
intelligent,  and  happy  republicans  occupying  the  territory  owned  by 


24 

the  United  States.  National  Universities  are  absolutely  necessary  for 
such  a  country  as  Heaven  has  destined  ours  to  be.  The  Anglo-Saxon 
blood  on  this  side  of  the  globe  must  peacefully  conquer  and  educate 
the  other  races.  It  is  our  destiny,  and  we  must  fulfil  it.  The  Univer- 
sities here  must  be  as  much  above  and  beyond  England's  Oxford  and 
Cambridge,  as  those  institutions  are  larger  than  our  rural  colleges. 
"  Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way. "  New  States  are 
steadily  coming  into  our  Union ;  and  it  is  of  measureless  importance 
to  them  that  they  begin  wisely  and  nobly.  When  the  time  comes  to 
alter  our  National  Constitution  in  four  important  points  (making  free 
national  education  one  of  those  points),  and  we  then  start  forward  ou  a 
career  of  light,  liberty,  and  power  unexampled  in  history,  then  we  shall 
see  the  value  of  gigantic  forces,  which  can  properly  educate  rising  gen- 
erations, direct  public  opinion,  begin  great  enterprises,  and  stamp  them 
all  with  the  seal  of  universal  republicanism  and  pure  Christianity. 

Greece  and  Rome  were  great  in  war,  arts,  and  letters.  We  are  to 
be  great  for  centuries  in  peace,  science,  civilization,  wealth,  letters, 
and  religion.  We  are  to  rule  with  the  quadrant  and  the  plough, 
the  steam-engine  and  the  loom,  the  telescope  and  the  microscope,  the 
spelling-book  and  the  Bible.  Our  Universities  will  build  a  school- 
house  in  every  village  between  Baffin's  Bay  and  Cape  Horn. 

The  dangerous  rush  of  pupils  to  these  Universities,  which  my  plan 
may  seem  to  favor,  can  be  fully  and  for  ever  prevented,  and  the  law 
of  demand  and  supply  have  its  conservative  and  discriminating  control. 
The  terms  of  admission  may  bar  the  doors  to  all  but  those  who  should 
enter. 

Hoping  that  the  time  may  soon  come  when  sound  philosophers,  true 
patriots,  and  good  Christians,  will  examine  the  momentous  subject  here 
proposed,  without  any  regard  to  my  view  of  it,  I  will  close  my  remarks 
upon  it,  with  a  brief  mention  of  some  of  the  reasons  for  adopting 
National  Universities. 

1.  They  are   strictly  democratic.  —  They  are  for  the  people,  and 
the  whole  people  alike,  wholly  regardless  of  sects  in  religion  and  par- 
ties in  politics ;  while  they  have  special  and  unlimited  regard  to  our 
common  humanity  and  common  citizenship.     They  are  places  where 
every  youth  in  the  United  States,  who  is  endowed  with  extraordinary 
talent,  may  find  all  the  helps  he  needs  to  prepare  himself  for  becoming 
the  great  benefactor  of  his  country  and  his  race. 

2.  They  are  promoters  of  fraternal  and  political  union.  — The  two 
Universities  will  grasp  hands  on  the  top  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
hold  the  entire  population  in  one  united  and  fraternal  whole.     The 
undergraduates,  coming  from  all  part?  of  our  wide  and  widening  coun- 


25 

try  with  a  common  aim,  a  common  interest,  and  a  common  hope,  will, 
in  four  such  years,  as  naturally  fraternize  as  contiguous  drops  of  water 
melt  into  one. 

3.  They  send  healthy  agencies  to  colleges  and  schools.  —  As  is  the 
teacher,  sa  is  the  school.     From  their  Normal-school  department,  our 
Universities  will  send  forth  purposely  prepared  teachers,  who  will  raise 
the  standard  of  popular  education,  and  organize  a  system  of  national 
elementary  instruction.      They  will  also  prepare  instructors  for  the 
highest  offices  in  our  colleges. 

4.  They  are  just,  benevolent,  and  prophetic.  —  Just  to  ourselves ;  for 
they  are  what  we  owe  to  our  history,  to  our  capabilities,  and  to  our 
hopes.     Benevolent  to  others ;  for  they  are  what  the  poor  and  unfor- 
tunate and  friendless  may  use  for  their  highest  good.     Prophetic ;  for 
they  may  open  a  future  of  honor  and  success  which  no  imagination 
now  can  grasp. 

5.  They  are  the  index  of  American  character.  —  This  is  the  culmi- 
nating point,  —  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of  the  whole  system.     Our  Uni- 
vei*sities  must  feel  it  to  be  their  paramount  duty  and  honor  to  hold  up 
before  all  people  the  highest  type  of  individual  and  national  character 
which  can  be  attained  on  earth ;   thus  attracting  Europe,  Asia,  and 
Africa  to  imitate  our  example. 

Take  an  illustration  in  trade.  How  worthy  and  useful  would  it 
be  for  our  Universities  to  attempt  to  persuade  all  nations  to  adopt  a 
system  of  uniform  weights,  measures,  and  currency  ! 

Take  an  example  in  government.  How  benevolent  and  politic 
would  it  be  in  us  to  persuade  all  nations  to  appoint  a  congress  of 
nations,  who  should  settle  a  code  of  international  law ;  and  then  ap- 
point a  grand  jury  of  the  world,  before  which  all  international  disputes 
shall  be  brought,  tried,  and  finally  settled !  thus  for  ever  putting  an  end 
to  the  unjust,  unchristian,  and  bloody  arbitrament  of  war. 

Thus  ends  my  first  plan  for  an  American  system  of  Free  Schools, 
Free  Colleger,  and  Free  Universities.  It  is  founded  on  the  broadest 
basis  of  pure  democratic  republicanism  ;  and  it  is  to  be  carried  into 
effect  by  the  united  wisdom  of  a  rich,  powerful,  intelligent,  and  Chris- 
tian people. 

Shakspeare  says  :  — 

"  Doubt  not  but  success 
Will  fashion  the  event  in  better  shape 
Than  I  can  lay  it  down  in  likelihood.  " 

CHARLES  BROOKS. 
WEST  MEDFORD,  March  31,  1864. 

4 


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